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[Separate No. i 54] 



The Spanish Domination of Upper Louisiana 
By Walter B. Douglas 



[From the Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for 
191 3, pages -4-90] 



Madison 

Published for the Society 

1914 



Wisconsin Historical Society 



•3 



The Spanish Domination of Upper 
Louisiana^ 



By Walter B. Douglas of St. Louis' 

Upper Louisiana, or, as it was known during nearly the whole 
period of the Spanish domination, the western part of the 
Illinois, was a country indefinite in its boundaries. It was 
limited by the Mississippi on the east ; on the south by an unde- 
termined line north of and near the Arkansas River; on the 
north and west it merged into the unknoAvn. It was a country 
rich beyond anything the world had ever dreamed of, yet the 
leader of the first white men who traversed it is said to have 
died of disappointment at not finding in it the wealth for which 
he sought. 

The first white men who entered the country were Spaniards. 
Saturday, June 18, 1541, Hernando de Soto with his little 



' No Spanish account of this period has been found. The principal 
authorities for the statements in this paper are the Archives and 
Church Registers at St. Louis; Louis Houclc, History of Missouri (Chi- 
cago, 1908), and Spanish Regime in Missouri (Chicago, 1909); and 
Marc de Villiers du Terrage, Les Dernieres Annces de La Louisiane 
Frangaise (Paris, 1903); all boolis of the greatest value. In addition 
to the French and Spanish archives, the Missouri Historical Society 
has in the Chouteau, Valle, and Poepping collections, and in the "Pa- 
pers from Spain", a vast amount of material, all of which has been 
examined and utilized. — W. B. D. 

^ This paper was prepared by Judge Douglas, vice-president of the 
Missouri Historical Society, at the request of the late Dr. R. G. 
Thwaites, superintendent of the Wisconsin State Historical Society, 
for presentation at the annual meeting, Oct. 23, 1913. Because of the 
death of Doctor Thwaites the preceding day no public meeting was 
held. Judge Douglas has, however, kindly furnished for publication 
the paper he had prepared for that occasion. — Ed. 

[ 74 1 

J, OF s: 
SEP .a m4 



Spanish Rule in Upper Louisiana 

army of soldiers crossed the Mississippi, near where the city 
of JMemphis now stands. Later in the same year Francisco 
Vasquez de Coronado, who had come up from Mexico, traversed 
the plains of Kansas probably to the Platte or the IMissouri. 
Both of these expeditions were seeking for plunder, and both 
were failures. The savage cruelty shown by De Soto and his 
men towards the Indians was never exceeded, perhaps never 
equaled, on the part of the Indians towards the whites. And 
while the Indians had the excuse that they were fighting for 
their homes and hunting grounds, the Spanish could allege 
none whatsoever. 

After thet retirement of these expeditions, the country re- 
mained linharassed by Europeans for nearly a century and a 
half. Then came in 1673 Joliet and Marquette, trader and 
missionary. They were quickly followed by explorers and 
coureurs de bois, and before the seventeenth century had 
closed there was at least one French village on the east side of 
the Mississippi near St. Louis, quickly followed by several 
others. 

The news of these French settlements in Upper Louisiana 
reached the Spanish in Mexico, who in 1720 sent an expedition 
under the command of Don Pedro Villazur to drive them out. 
This expedition reached the Missouri where it was exterminated 
by the Indians.^ A few years ago an ancient Spanish battle- 
ax which may be a relic of Villazur 's party was found in the 
neighborhood of Kansas City. This was the last hostile incur- 
sion into Upper Louisiana on the part of Spain. Forty-two 
years later she received the country as a gift. 

Louis XV of France, November 3, 1762, "from the pure 
impulse of his generous heart, ' ' in the words of the treaty, ceded 
to his dearly beloved cousin, the King of Spain, all the country- 
known under the name of Louisiana.* February 10, of the 
next year, by the Treaty of Paris, he conveyed all of the country 
east of the Mississippi, excepting the island upon which New 



* See Father Charlevoix's account of this expedition, translated for 
Wis. Hist. Colls., xvl, pp. 413, 414. — Ed. 

* "This cession was not an act of generosity, but was a small com- 
pensation for the sacrifices Imposed upon Spain by the selfish friend- 
ship of France." — Jeronimo Becker, in La Espana Moderna, May 1, 
1893.— W. B. D. 

6 [75] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

Orleans stands, to Great Britain. Both nations were slow to 
take possession of their new dominions, and meanwhile the 
French continued to govern the country. October 10, 1765, 
St. Ange, the French governor at Fort Chartres, delivered 
possession of the eastera part of the Illinois to a detachment 
of British soldiers commanded by Capt, Thomas Stirling, and 
moved the seat of government across the river to the new post 
of St. Louis.^ In 1767, a detachment of Spanish soldiers was 
sent up the river from New Orleans to build two forts at the 
mouth of the Missouri, their commandant having instructions 
not to interfere with the existing French government.^ 

It was not until May 20, 1770, that Don Pedro Piemas who 
had been appointed by General Alexandro 'Eeilly, of infamous 
memory, lieutenant-governor "of the village of St. Louis, Ste. 
Genevieve, and all the districts of the Misuri River and the 
districts of Ylinneses belonging to His Majesty", reached St. 
Louis, and took over the government of the country from St. 
Ange, the French commandant in charge. O'Reilly gave to 
Governor Piernas a paper of instructions to be strictly followed 
by him in his new government. "There are", he said, "three pri- 
mary objects to be looked after * * *. These are that the 
dominion and government of His Majesty be loved and res- 
pected; justice administered promptly, impartially, and accord- 
ing to the laws ; and that commerce be protected and increased 
as much as possible." He also directed the lieutenant-governor 
to preserve so far as possible the greatest harmony with the 
English ; to cause the Indians to know the greatness, clemency, 
and generosity of the King, and to see to it that they received 



"Among the myths which have gathered about the early history of 
St. Louis Is one to the effect that the authority exercised by St. Ange 
over the territory west of the Mississippi was conferred upon him by 
the people of St. Louis. This, though utterly without foundation In 
fact or reason, has been generally accepted by writers on the history 
of the country. — W. B. D. 

• The place where these forts were erected was called "the Mlsurl," 
and later "the District of the Misuri," to distinguish it from the Dis- 
trict of the Ylinneses (Illinois), in which St. Louis was situated. This 
was the first use of the word Missouri as a territorial designation. 
For accounts of these forts, see "The Beginning of Spanish Missouri" 
and "The Spanish Forts at the Mouth of the Missouri River", In 
Missouri Historical Collections, iii, pp. 145, 269. — W. B. D. 

[76] 



Spanish Rule in Upper Louisiana 

good treatment and fair dealing; to exercise as an invariable 
principle the greatest economy in regard to the treasury; fur- 
thermore, he was not to permit any person to establish his 
residence in the country without having permission therefor in 
writing from the governor-general of the province, nor to al- 
low any English merchants or traders to enter the country, or 
the vassals of His Majesty to have any communication with 
them.'' 

When Piemas came to Upper Louisiana there were in the 
district but two villages, St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve. Ste. 
Genevieve was the older town, having existed since the early 
part of the century. St. Louis had been founded in 1764 by 
Pierre Laclede, member of a trading company which had a 
grant from the French governor at New Orleans of a monopoly 
of trade on the upper rivers — the Missouri and the Mississippi. 
The times proved fortunate for the growth of the new post. 
The French inhabitants on the east side of the river, inspired 
by dislike of the heretical English, abandoned the country in 
great numbers. Some went down the river to New Orleans; 
many of the wealthier farmers moved with their slaves across 
the IVIississippi to Ste. Genevieve; the officials, the traders, the 
craftsmen, and many others went to St. Louis. 

Governor Piernas had a census made in 1772 which showed 
that St. Louis had a population of 39& whites and 198 slaves; 
while at Ste. Genevieve were 404 whites and 287 slaves — making 
about thirteen hundred people in the country. A year later 
St. Louis had 444 whites and 193 slaves; and Ste. Genevieve 
400 whites and 276 slaves, an increase of twenty-five people in 
all. 

These little communities had no neighbors except the remains 
of the Franco-British villages across the river. It was a three- 
months' voyage up the river from New Orleans, and about as 
long a journey from Canada. It may illustrate the isolation 
of these communities, to recall John Bradbury's exclamation 
of surprise nearly fifty years later at the ease with which he 
caught his horse, turned out to graze on the edge of the village 



'' A translation of these Instructions may be found in Houck, Span- 
ish Regime, 1, pp. 76-81. — Ed. 

[77] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

of St. Louis, considering the fact, he says, that there was not 
a fence to obstruct his passage to the Pacific Ocean, 

The people who had made their homes in this western wilder- 
ness were for the most part either Canadians or natives of the 
Illinois, Some of the officers were of French birth, and a few 
other inhabitants had come direct from France, There was 
practically no Spanish immigration. Some of the Spanish 
officers and soldiers married French women and became identi- 
fied with the people. 

The population included all social classes. The majority 
were descendants of the peasant class in France, some were of 
the Canadian nohlesse, and some could trace their lineage through 
a line of noble ancestors back to the time of the Crusades. 
Little emphasis, however, was laid upon social distinctions. 
No landed class could arise because there was land enough for 
all.* There was no great wealth and no poverty. 1 visited, 



^ In the granting of lands the French practice was less liberal 
than that of the Spanish. The French seemed to be more under the 
influence of European ideas and gave little consideration to the differ- 
ence between the situation of settlers in a new country and that of 
people at home in France; though it may be that their practice was 
controlled by the necessity of holding the people together for common 
defense. The French grants were of village lots and of common field 
lots, the latter usually one or two arpents in front by forty in depth. 
The Spanish grants were not limited to narrow strips in the French 
manner, but were given in such shape as the petitioner desired and 
the situation allowed. The grants ranged in quantity from a few 
arpents to five hundred thousand, which latter amount was the largest 
grant made. Ordinarily the grants were made for the use of the 
grantee, and he was given as much as his means allowed him to put 
In cultivation. The larger grants were made for services rendered. 
No land was sold in Upper Louisiana by either France or Spain. The 
mere concession by the lieutenant-governor was sufficient to confer the 
right to the quantity of land designated, and all that was necessary 
to obtain title was to fix the grant upon a definite location and have 
its boundaries determined by a survey. When the Americans took 
over the country they failed to recognize the principles which had 
theretofore controlled, with the result that many of the Inhabitants 
were unjustly deprived of their property. When, under the decisions 
of the United States Supreme Court, the rights of the grantees were 
finally recognized, a large part of the land had passed into the hands 
of American speculators. See "Report of Commissioners for the Ad- 
justment of Land Titles in Missouri," in 24 Cong., 1 sess., House Docs., 
no. 59.— W. B. D. 

[78 1 



Spanish Rule in Upper Louisiana 

years ago, at the house of a Creole family which I like 
to think was typical of the old times. Every material thing 
about the house showed the narrowness of the family income. 
But not so the family itself. The dignity and grace of la 
grande dame was as natural to the mother as the air she 
breathed, and the daughters were all that might be expected 
from such a mother. Among such people there was no poverty 
of spirit. 

The Louisiana French had no passion for wealth. They were 
talkative and gay, at times energetic and at times idle. When 
there was work to be done they showed an endurance which was 
surprising. They were fearless but not pugnacious ; they fought 
when it was necessary, but did not love fighting for its own 
sake. They were hospitable to the last extreme, kindly to each 
other and to their slaves. The legal records of the Spanish 
regime show very few cases on the criminal docket. There is 
an occasional murder case, but I have found none for larceny. 
They sinned more with the tongue than otherwise, for the 
records show many prosecutions for slander, in which the of- 
fender, if found guilty, was sentenced to take his place at the 
church door when the people were coming out from mass and 
make public apology. 

One illustration of the honesty of the time is shown by the 
following testamentary provision. Captain De Volsey, a man, 
by the way, whose habit of drink is remembered against him, 
recited in his will that he had sold to Mr. Sarpy an annuity, the 
payment of which was charged upon some church property in 
France ; that he feared that owing to the troubles in France 
this annuity might not be as productive as he had represented 
it to be, and that should such a thing happen, his executor was 
to protect Mr. Sarpy against any loss. De Volsey 's only mention 
of his wife in his will was a bequest to her of five pairs of his 
breeches. 

Many of the Canadians among the population were fairly 
educated, but their children and the natives of the country had 
no opportunity for schooling. Many descendants of noble and 
distinguished families could neither read nor write; frequently 
when a signature is found affixed to a paper, its laborious 
character shows that knowledge of penmanship went no fur- 
ther than the writing of the name. In time, however, schools 

[79] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

were established. Master Jean Baptiste Truteau from Canada 
set up a school in St. Louis which he continued intermittently 
long after the American occupation. When funds were low 
or the inclination strong he went off on a trading expedition 
among the Indians. An interesting journal of his, written 
about 1795, gives the earliest account of some of the nations on 
the upper Missouri.^ A pupil of his writing of the school says, 
"The only books used in this institution were the catechism and 
the prayer book. The scholars were taught their letters, their 
doctrine, their devotions, from these two, and at one and the 
same time learned to read and pray." He describes the school 
master himself in these words: "He certainly was a strict and 
even a harsh disciplinarian, and many are the stories told of the 
strange modes of punishment to which his pupils of either sex 
were subjected. One of his mildest, was fastening a large plac- 
ard on the back of the youthful offender, inscribed with the 
nature of the offense. The pupil then paraded the main streets 
of the village, followed at a distance by two of his fellow pupils, 
who upon their return to the school reported that the offender 
had duly made the prescribed march."" 

There was in early days another teacher, Madame Maria 
Josepha Rigauche. Like Truteau, she had other occupations, 
and owned boats that traded between St. Louis and New Or- 
leans. No pupil has left us an account of her teaching, but 
this story which is told about her may stimulate our imagina- 
tion as to her methods of discipline. "There was a female, who 
became afterwards the school mistress of the village, who when 
the savages made the attack [on St. Louis, May 26, 1780,] put 
on a coat, buttoning it weR up to her chin, armed with a pistol 
in one hand and with a knife in the other, took her station at 
one of the gates, encouraged the men to make a valiant defense, 
and fearlessly exposed her person to the fire of the savages."" 

Some of the people sent their children to Canada and to New 
Orleans to be educated, and a few were sent to France, It is 
not possible to tell how general the reading habit was among 



* For Truteau's Journal see American Historical Revieiv, xix, 
pp. 299-323, and Missouri Hist. Colls., Iv, pp. 9-48.— W. B. D. 
^° Ibid, p. 137.— Ed. 
"Richard Edwards, Oreat West (St. Louis, 1860), p. 589.— W. B. D. 

[80] 



Spanish Rule in Upper Louisiana 

the educated people, but in the inveutory of the estate of 
Col. Auguste Chouteau there is a list of his libraiy which 
was an extensive one, well chosen, and the titles of the books 
would, I am sure, arouse the desires of booklovers of the present 
day. 

There was but one career open to the active and ambitious 
young men of the time, and that was trade with the Indians. 
For the less ambitious farming and mining offered a compe- 
tence; quantities of wheat and corn were raised, and much of 
it wasj shipped down the river to a profitable market. The 
lead mines were remunerative even with the crude methods used 
for reducing the ore. But what appealed to the imagination 
was the freedom and adventure of the Indian trade with its 
substantial rewards. Each autumn the young and middle-aged 
men departed to various parts of the Indian country, leaving 
the defense of the villages during the winter to their elders 
and the less enterprising. "When a new tribe was found the 
discoverer had a claim to a monopoly of its trade. Notwith- 
standing O'Reilly's instruction that, "for no reason at all shall 
the governor suffer or authorize any monopoly, or concede any 
exclusive rights," Baron Carondelet, governor at New Orleans, 
on the recommendation of Lieutenant-Governor Perez granted 
to Jean Munier of St. Louis the exclusive trade with the Ponca 
tribe because he had discovered that nation. 

The St. Louis traders were the pathfinders through the whole 
of the country, penetrating to the most distant recesses of the 
Rocky Mountains. Many of them took unto themselves wives 
from among the Indians; some of them remained with their 
new aUies, some brought their wives and children back to the 
village from which they started. The church registers contain 
many entries of the baptism of mixed-blood children who had 
been brought in for that purpose. One of the most notable 
records is that of the family of Jean Marie Cardinal. May 30, 
1776, his seven daughters and one son were baptized at the 
church in St. Louis ; next the mother was baptized ; then Car- 
dinal and the mother were married.^" The mother was a black 
Pawnee by name Careche-Caranche, but the priest gave her the 



" Compare similar instances in the Mackinac "Register," published 
In. Wis. Hist. Colls., xviii, xix. — Ed. 

[81] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

new name of Marianne. She and Cardinal liad been married 
in the Indian country according to the usage of her nation, but 
that meant nothing to the Church, and a new marriage was 
required. The daughters all married Frenchmen, and many- 
substantial citizens of Missouri trace their descent from this 
couple. The father was killed by the Indians in the attack on 
St. Louis in 1780, and an avenue in that city now bears his 
name. 

The French had none of the aversion for the Indians which 
was shown by people of English blood. They recognized their 
common humanity, and their association with them was pro- 
ductive of good to both races. One reason for this was that the 
French Creole was not given to thinking overmuch about 
himself. He was gay and happy and ready to make the most 
of the world about him. Captain Stoddard says of them that 
"of all the people on the globe the French in Louisiana ap- 
pear to be the happiest ".^^ 

It was over this people that the rule of Spain extended for 
thirty-four years. The Spanish domination began at a time 
when the memory of events in Lower Louisiana was fresh in 
the minds of all. Sympathy with the aspirations of the revolu- 
tionists at New Orleans, pride in their assertion of their nation- 
ality as against the Spaniards, and horror at the butchery of 
the revolutionary leaders by O'Reilly, must have found strong 
lodgment in their hearts. Yet they suppressed their feelings 
and acquiesced in the change of government with no apparent 
dissatisfaction. In its treatment of the people the Spanish 
government showed great wisdom. It placed few burdens upon 
them and left them in most respects a free people. No property 
tax was imposed, and the small revenue which was raised was 
produced from licenses, inheritance taxes, and a tariff on both 
imports and exports. In 1799, the treasury of the King of 
Spain being depleted by the cost of war, it was intimated to 
the inhabitants of Upper Louisiana that voluntary patriotic 
donations would be acceptable from the well-to-do people of the 
province, and the response was generous. 

While the governor was both civil and military commandant, 



^»Amos Stoddard, Sketches of Louisiana (Philadelphia, 1812), 
p. 310.— Ed. 

[82] 



Spanish Rule in Upper Louisiana 

the goveniment was in the nature of a military occupation. 
Yet, although the governor's force was designated as "the 
army", it seldom exceeded two hundred men in the whole 
country. The governor's civil powers were judicial rather than 
executive. There were no public works except the fortifica- 
tions of the villages ; no roads were built, no schools established, 
and the only public buildings of which there is record were 
the barracks and the calaboose. All citizens between the ages 
of fifteen and fifty were enrolled in the militia. They were in- 
structed in tactics by Spanish officers, and were required to 
parade every Sunday when the weather permitted; but the 
militia officers and men were all French and the service was 
by no means arduous. While the system of law administered 
by the governor was nominally Spanish, it was in fact a crude 
system based upon the Coutunie dc Paris, which was the French 
common law of the country. The proceedings were summary. 
The injured party addressed a petition to the governor setting 
forth the particulars of his complaint written in the French 
language ; the governor indorsed upon it in Spanish a command 
that the party complained of be notified to answer the complaint ; 
the notification was made by an officer who was always desig- 
nated by the French title of Jiussier; he made his return of service 
in his own language, according as he happened to be a French- 
man or a Spaniard. When the answer w^as in, the governor 
himself heard the testimony and decided the case, or, if he saw 
fit, caused each party to choose an arbitrator, and the two so 
chosen selected a third. These arbitrators acted as judges in 
the cause, there being no instance where the governor failed to 
confirm their decision. Criminal cases were decided by the 
governor. A favorite method of disposing of unruly persons 
was banishment from the country. In eases of importance there 
was an appeal to the cahildo at New Orleans, and a further ap- 
peal was allowed to the authorities at Havana, but appeals were 
infrequent. Decisions were speedy and seemingly impartial, 
and justice seems to have been the rule. During the whole of 
the Spanish domination there was not a practising lawyer in 
the country. 

In dealing with the Indians the government adopted a policy 
exactly the opposite to that followed by the Spanish explorers. 
It seems to have been the purpose to follow French methods. 

[83] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

In a letter in 1781, from Gov, Francisco Cruzat to the Sauk 
and Fox Indians the governor says, "your fathers, the French 
and the Spanish, have always been but one. * * * Know 
then, when you shake hands with the Spanish, you also shake 
hands with the French".^* But the Spanish methods were 
much less vigorous and less effective than the French, The 
Osage Indians at one time descended upon Ste. Genevieve and 
carried away every horse in the village. Instead of being 
followed and punished, and the property retaken, they were 
notified that unless they returned the stolen animals there should 
be no more trade between them and the whites. 

The Indians frequently visited the villages and terrorized the 
whites without punishment. Captain Stoddard tells this 
story :^^ 

One instance, among many others, may be adduced- to explain the 
character of the Missouri Indians. While a kind of predatory war 
raged in 1794, between one of their tribes and the whites, a peace was 
concluded in a singular manner: A war chief, with a party of his 
nation, boldly entered St, Louis, and demanded an interview with the 
lieutenant-governor, to whom he said, "We have come to offer you 
peace; we have been at war with you many moons, and what have we 
done? Nothing. Our Warriors have tried every means to meet your's 
in battle, but you will not, you dare not fight us; you are a parcel of 
old women. What can be done with such a people but to make peace, 
since you will not fight? I come, therefore, to offer you peace, and to 
bury the hatchet; to brighten the chain, and again to open the way 
between us." The Spanish government was obliged to bear this insult 
with patience, and to grant the desired peace. 

At another time a St, Louis Creole was shot down and killed 
at the edge of the village by a party of Indians, The gover- 
nor being temporarily absent, the French captain of militia 
called together a party of his men, followed the marauders 
and took a bloody vengeance. The governor removed him from 
office and sent him to New Orleans for punishment. He had, 
it is said, to make a voyage to Spain in order to obtain pardon 
for his hasty and unauthorized action. 

Although the people were continually harassed and exposed 
to loss of life and property at the hands of the Indians, when 



* Wis. Hist. Colls., ill, p. 505.— W. B. D. 
' Stoddard, Louisiana, p. 263. — Ed, 

[84] 



Spanish Rule in Upper Louisiana 

the latter learned that their great father in Spain was in need, 
and had asked for donations, one tribe came in and offered the 
proceeds of their hunting to swell the fund. 

The Indians were not the only marauders. Pirates infested 
the ^Mississippi River, the only highway to the outside world, 
pillaged the traders, and even made captive the wife and child 
of Governor Cruzat.^° The suppression of piracy was accom- 
plished by the combined action of the traders without help 
from the government. 

The principle of economy, insisted upon by O'Reilly in his 
instructions to Piemas, was a controlling one during the whole 
period of the Spanish regime, and is one explanation of the in- 
action of the authorities. The governor was responsible for all 
expenditure. His accounts were subjected to the most critical 
scrutiny by the auditor's office at New Orleans, and every item 
about which the slightest doubt existed was disallowed and 
charged against the governor's salary, which seldom exceeded 
one hundred and forty dollars a month, and was often much 
less. A German traveler named Sehultz who visited Upper 
Louisiana tells a story current in the country, which has been 
often repeated and accepted as true. He says that when the 
commandant at Ste. Genevieve presented his account for the 
building of the fort at that village to the governor, he was cold- 
ly received and his account merely glanced at without any 
word of approval. The commandant consulted a friend of the 
governor as to the reason why he should be subjected to such 
treatment. The friend asked to be shown the account, and see- 
ing that it was for 412 pesos, he smilingly added a cipher to the 
amount making it 4,120 pesos and told the commandant to see 
what the governor would say to that. The commandant pre- 
sented the account again and received the same treatment as at 
first. Returning to the governor's friend with the story of his 
ill success, the friend took a pen and added still another cipher 
making 41,200 pesos. This time the commandant was received 
with favor, his account was approved, and in time he received 
a little more than the amount first demanded.^^ 



'* See an interesting account of Madame Cruzat's capture and impris- 
•onment in Houck, Spanish Regime, i, pp. 211-234. — ^W. B. D. 

^'Christian Sehultz junior. Travels (New York, 1810), i, pp. 68, 
'69.— Ed. 

[85] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

The record of the Ste. Genevieve fort has not been found, 
but the barracks at St. Louis were damaged by a wind storm 
at about the same time, and we have a full account of the pro- 
cedure adopted in that case. First, a report was made to the 
comptroller of accounts of the fact that the damage had oc- 
curred, with a request that the necessary expenditure for re- 
pairs might be authorized. Consent to this having been given, 
a carpenter and two citizens of high standing were called in to 
examine and report on the condition of the building, which 
report was made in great detail. Then bids were taken for 
the doing of the work. The report and the bids were sent to 
New Orleans for approval, and when approved the work was 
done. Then a specific account of the work done and the mater- 
ials used was sent to the auditor, who raised many objections, 
one of which was that the charge for four pounds of nails was 
excessive. 

Nearly all American writers say that the Spanish officials 
were systematic depredators upon the Royal Treasury, but no 
authority has been found for such statements. Everything 
known of the officials in Upper Louisiana supports the belief 
that they were honest men. As we have seen the taxation was 
very light and the provincial government had very little money 
at its disposal. ]\Iost of what it did have was specifically ap- 
propriated. The salaries of the officers of the troops and of the 
priests were paid by the King; the priests received from $365 
to $400 a year in addition, generally, to one or two slaves or 
hired servants. They received from the people fees for bap- 
tisms, marriages, and burials, and the people generally built and 
maintained the churches and the priest's house. 

In the early years of the Spanish regime no settlers were ad- 
mitted to the country who did not swear allegiance to both the 
King and the Catholic Church. Later, when the pressure of 
Americans became too strong to be resisted, Protestants were' 
admitted, but their religion was not tolerated, and the require- 
ment was that their children must receive Catholic baptism. 
Amusing stories are told in this connection of one of the gover- 
nors. 

An American settler, Abraham Musick, between whom and 
the governor a friendship had grown up, applied for liberty to 

[86] 



Spanish Rule in Upper Louisiana 

hold Baptist meetings at his house. The widow of Mr. Musick 
reported the interview, years afterwards, to the Rev. John M. 
Peck in this way: 

"My friend, Jolin Clark, is in the country on a visit to his friends," 
said Mr. Musiclv. "He is a good man, peaceably disposed, and will be- 
have as a good citizen should. The American people desire to hear 
him preach at my house occasionally. Will the commandant please 
give permission, that we may not be molested? We will hold our meet- 
ings quietly, make no disturbance, and say nothing against the King 
of Spain nor the Catholic religion." The governor was inclined to 
favor the American settlers, but he was officially obliged to reject all 
such petitions, so replied, with seeming determination: "No, Monsieur 
Musick. I can not permit no such ting; 'tis against de law; you must all 
be hon Catliolique in dis contree. Very sorry, Mons. Musick, I cannot 
oblige you, but I must follow de 'Regulacion.' 

Discouraged at this decision, in a tone so magisterial, Mr. Musick 
regarded any further effort hopeless, and arose to depart from the 
office, when, with a gracious countenance, the governor said: "Sit 
down, Mons. Musick; please sit down; I soon get dis paper fix for dese 
gentlehovnne who wait; and den we talk. You must eat my dinner, 
and drink a glass of inn vin. You and I good friend, though I can- 
not let j'ou make a church house." After dispatching the business on 
hand, the governor insisted on the company of Mr. Musick to dinner. 
While discoursing with volubility in his imperfect English, the wily 
commandant adverted to the petition so unceremoniously rejected in 
the office. 

"You understand me. Monsieur Musick, I presume. You must not 
put — what do you call him — un clocher, on your house and call It a 
church; dat is all wrong, you must make no bell ring. And now hear 
me, Mons. Musick, you must let no man baptize your enfant but de 
parish priest. But if your friend come to see you, your neighbor come 
there, you conversez; you say prayer; you read Bible; you sing song 
— dat is all right — you all &o?i Catholique." 

"While this disposition of a question perplexing to the gover- 
nor accommodated the American settlers, it gave no legal coun- 
tenance to the visits of a preacher from another nation and a 
different religion, but the people came out to the meetings with 
less fear of the prison. Mr. Clark continued his visits nearly 
every month, which did not escape the notice of the governor. 
The latter soon learned the period of his visits, and never failed, 
some two or three days before his return to Illinois, to send a 
threatening message into the country to this effect, "If Mons. 
Clark did not leave the Spanish country in three days, he would 
be put in the calahozo.'^ So regularly came this message that it 

[87] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

became a standing jest with his friends to inquire, "Welly. 
Brother Clark, when do you go to the calahozo?" ''In three 
days", would be the reply, which all understood to mean cross- 
ing the river to the American side. 

The years of the Spanish regime, which were so uneventful 
within the country, were years teeming with eventfulness with- 
out. The American colonists rebelled against the rule of the- 
mother country, and by a successful war achieved their inde- 
pendence. The Eevolution reached to the border of Upper 
Louisiana when George Rogers Clark made conquest of the- 
villages across the river. There were, however, two events in 
which the Spanish authorities in Upper Louisiana became in- 
volved with the outside world. In 1780, a detachment of 
British and Indians from IMackinac made an attack upon St. 
Louis, but the attack seems to have been half-hearted and was 
beaten off without great loss on either side. The King sent hia 
thanks and a promotion in military rank to the governor, De 
Leyba, for his vigorous defense ; but the governor was dead by 
the time the King's letter was written.^^ The next year a party 
of St. Louis militia aided by some Illinois Creoles and friendly 
Indians marched through the January snows across what is now 
Illinois and captured the post of St. Joseph in Michigan. They 
carried the British flag of the post back to Governor Cruzat, 
and later the Spanish claimed the Illinois country by right of 
conquest, but the claim came to nothing.^^ 

Later when American immigrants crossed the Alleghanies, 
swarmed into Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio, and penetrated 
even into "the Illinois", the Spanish were filled with dread. 
They endeavored to protect their country against the advance 
of the Americans by inducing Catholic immigration from what- 
soever nationality it might come. In this, however, they met with 
little success. Then came the Revolution in France, which had 
two effects upon Louisiana. It brought to it many emigres, 
people of birth and education who sought safety in the New 
"World. These people took rank among the best in the province, 
and many families influential in Missouri at the present time 



" Houck, Spanish Regime, i, pp. 167-174. — Ed. 

^"Ibid, p. 207; Wis. Hist. Colls., xviii, pp. 430-432; Missouri Histori- 
cal Review, ii, pp. 195-210; v, pp. 214-228.— Ed. . 



Spanish Rule in Upper Louisiana 

are descended from them. Though the Creoles had no reason to 
love the government of France which had abandoned them, they 
still considered themselves Frenchmen and loved the country of 
their ancestors. They were divided in their sympathies; most 
of them adhered to the old regime, but some, favoring the prin- 
ciples of the Revolution, formed a society which they called the 
sans culottes. On the revolutionary New Year's day, Septem- 
ber 22, 1796, the latter paraded the streets of St. Louis, and 
sang the songs of the Revolution before the houses of the prin- 
cipal citizens and at the priest's door. The governor-general 
at New Orleans was greatly scandalized by this performance, 
and gave orders to have the ringleaders arrested and sent down 
for punishment, but Gov. Zenon Trudeau, himself a Creole, al- 
lowed the offenders to hide until the storm was over.^° 

The retrocession of the country to France soon followed — then 
the sale in April, 1803, by Napoleon to the United States. In the 
fall of that year, Captains Lewis and Clark, who had been sent 
by President Jefferson to explore the new purchase, applied to 
Governor DeLassus for permission to make their camp in the 
country so that they might be ready to start up the Missouri 
River in the spring. Governor DeLassus would not consider the 
admission of foreign soldiers into His Majesty's dominions, and 
Lewis and Clark had to make their camp on the east side of 
the Mississippi.^^ 

The surrender of possession of Lower Louisiana took place 
at New Orleans in Decembel", 1803. The French commissioners 
declined to make the long voyage to St. Louis in order to de- 
liver the possession of Upper Louisiana. The French in that 
country were Spanish subjects and for that reason could not 
act for France. So authority was given to Capt. Amos Stod- 
dard of the United States army to represent the French Repub- 
lic and to receive on behalf of France the possession of the 
country from Spain. March 9, 1804, this transfer was made." 

Not many years ago in the trial of a case at St. Louis, a 
mulatto woman testified to her recollections of the event. She 



" See "letter of instructions," Carondelet to Howard, 1796, Missouri' 
Hist. Colls., iii, pp. 71, 75.— W. B. D. 

*^ See R. G. Thwaites (ed.). Original Journals of Lewis and Clark 
Expedition (New York, 1904-05), i, p. xxxi; vil, p. 231.— Ed. 

"Ihid, I, p. 4; Stoddard, Louisiana, preface; Houck, History of Mis- 
souri, ii, pp. 255-263. — Ed. 

[89] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

said the English soldiers, as she called them, came across the 
river and climbed the bank to the Government House ; the Span- 
ish soldiers, with Governor DeLassus, wearing his gold uniform, 
at their head marched down from the fort on the hill ; then Gov- 
ernor DeLassus gave to the English captain a big key and the 
flag was taken down from the flag pole, the people all standing 
about crying. When asked if she cried, the witness answered 
that she did cry, for she thought that she had lost her King. 
There is a tradition that when the Spanish flag was taken down 
and the tricolored French flag raised in its place, Captain 
Stoddard was approached by some of the Creoles with the pe- 
tition that the French flag be allowed to fly until the next day. 
Stoddard consented, and the Creoles formed a guard of honor 
who watched the flag through the night and until its final de- 
scent. IMarch 10, 1804, Stoddard, as the representative of both 
countries, caused the French flag to be lowered and that of the 
United States to be raised in its stead. 

In the government of Upper Louisiana Spain was confronted 
by a serious problem. It was difficult in the beginning because 
of the unsympathetic feeling of the French inhabitants ; it grew 
more difficult when the pioneer American population, alien in 
feelings, traditions, religion, and habits of thought pressed into 
the country. The population at the time of the transfer was 
estimated at about nine thousand whites, three-fifths of whom 
were Americans, and about thirteen hundred negro slaves. The 
French lived in the villages, and the fanners among them culti- 
vated their lots in the common fields, just as their forefathers 
had done in France. The Americans with few exceptions were 
scattered throughout the country on isolated farms in the neigh- 
borhood of the villages. They were generally of the frontier 
type, disdainful of restraint, but such was their respect for, or 
fear of, the Spanish government that with few exceptions they 
became law-abiding citizens. 

The Spanish government had its weaknesses, as I have pointed 
out; but it was dignified, it was just, and it was not oppressive. 
Its subjects, however, were French and they remained French; 
the few Spanish who came to the country were absorbed by the 
French. When the flag of Spain disappeared from Upper 
Louisiana, it was as though the Spanish domination had never 
been. No heritage was left of principles, of ideas, or of customs. 

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